Secretary Napolitano Announces "If You See Something, Say Something" Campaign Partnership with the American Hotel and Lodging Association and LodgeNet

Release Date:

November 2, 2011

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryContact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today joined American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) President and CEO Joe McInerney, LodgeNet Interactive Corporation Chairman and CEO Scott Petersen, and W Hotel General Manager Ed Baten to announce the new partnership between the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign and the AH&LA and LodgeNet—highlighting the Department’s continued partnership with the private sector to ensure our nation’s safety and security.

“This private sector partnership is another example of how DHS and our nation’s hospitality industry are working together to protect our country, recognizing that security and economic prosperity often go hand-in-hand,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Each of us has a role to play in helping keep America safe, and time and again, we have seen the value of public vigilance in thwarting terrorism. Sending the simple but effective “If You See Something, Say Something™” message to the millions of guests that stay at hotels and motels each year is a significant step in engaging the full range of partners in our homeland security efforts. America’s hospitality industry is a vital engine for job growth and sustainment—and with partnerships like this it is also becoming an increasingly important partner in our nation’s security.”

The Department’s “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign partnership with the AH&LA and LodgeNet will feature a 15 second public service announcement that will air on the ‘Welcome Channel’ in hotel rooms across all 50 states. The PSA will be deployed into 5,462 hotels including the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, Intercontinental, Best Western, Red Roof Inn, Radisson, and others, covering 1.2 million hotel rooms nationwide.

“We are pleased to participate in this campaign to make travel safer across our great country and to complement on the guest room side what the AH&LA has already done so effectively in educating hotel staff,” said Scott C. Petersen, Chairman and CEO of LodgeNet. “With 98% of all hotel guests turning on the TV during their stay – and with PSAs for this campaign now playing in more than 1.2 million guest rooms across all 50 states – we will be conveying this vital message of vigilance to many millions of travelers throughout the United States.”

The “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign—originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

Over the past year, DHS has collaborated closely with federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation.

DHS will continue to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign nationally to help America’s business, communities and citizens remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping the country safe.